Summary:
In zip code 72650, there is one high school, Marshall High School, serving grades 7 through 12 in the rural community of Marshall, Arkansas, as part of the Searcy County School District.
Marshall High School is a small school with 353 students and an exceptionally low student-to-teacher ratio of 5.1 to 1, which allows for highly personalized instruction. The school has shown remarkable academic performance, achieving its highest-ever state ranking of 11th out of 291 schools in Arkansas during the 2024-2025 school year, earning a 5-star rating. While its ranking dropped to 37th in the 2025-2026 school year (still a 4-star rating), the school consistently excels in Biology, with 58.7% of students proficient compared to the state average of 42.7%. However, the school faces challenges in Mathematics, where only 35.5% of students are proficient versus the state average of 44.1%. The school spends $14,941 per student, significantly above the national average, and maintains a very low dropout rate of 0.2%.
A key takeaway is the school's resilience given that 99.15% of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating high economic need. Despite this, Marshall High School outperforms the state in English Language Arts (42.0% vs. 39.4%), Reading (42.9% vs. 40.4%), Biology, and Geometry (33.4% vs. 26.4%). The school's graduation rate was 82.0% in 2021-2022, which is below the current state average of 90.1%, but the school's overall performance suggests it provides significant value to its students. The volatility in state rankings—from 44th to 11th to 37th—may be influenced by the small number of test-takers, but the school's consistent strengths in specific subjects and its low dropout rate paint a picture of a dedicated educational environment overcoming socioeconomic barriers.
Thank you for your feedback!